Six PDF files from April 2007 describing Amnesty International's internal policies and media handling instructions in relation to abortions. Some of the documents have appeared, likely via another source, in concatenated form at Consistent-life. There has been extensive discussion of the policy change itself in the main stream press and on the internet.

2. This reveals the covert nature of Amnesty International's supposedly unbiased human rights agenda- and its attempts to hide this bias from the public. Includes internal documents not intended for distribution. Was released in the wake of a Supreme court case upholding ban on partial birth abortions.

3. Target audience was originally student leaders- now of interest to anyone in the law, health or political spectrum.

4. The sender listed in the text of the email (below) should be reachable, but again, they would deny. Was blind cced on this.

5. Because after working as a leader with AI, I'm fed up with hidden agendas.

6. No urgency.

Text of the email is as follows. All mentioned attachments were zipped and uploaded.

From: Kathy Brown [mailto:kbrown@aiusa.org]
Sent: Friday, April 20, 2007 1:13 PM
To: Kathy Brown
Subject: A.I. new policy on SRR - INTERNAL for volunteer leaders
INTERNAL - NOT FOR PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION - PLEASE DO NOT REDISTRIBUTE
Dear Volunteer Leaders,
Amnesty International's International Executive Committee (IEC)
has adopted a new position on Sexual and Reproductive Rights (SRR)
that includes support for abortion in very particular circumstances,
in the context of our work to stop grave human rights abuses against
women and girls. This new policy, which grew out of our campaigning
to stop violence against women and the tragic circumstances in which
women all too often find themselves, will enable the organization to:
Support women who seek a safe, early medical termination of pregnancy in
cases of rape, incest or when a woman's life or health is at grave risk.
Urge governments to make medical care available to women who suffer
complications from unsafe abortions; Oppose imprisonment and other
criminal penalties for abortion against women and their providers.
It is very important to be aware of the following: This policy will not be
made public at this time. As the IEC has written to all sections, "There
is to be no proactive external publication of the policy position or of
the fact of its adoption issued. This means no section or structure is
to issue a press release or public statement or external communication of
any kind on the policy decision." A central reason for this is that there
will be no campaigning on these issues until at least later this year,
and we will await further guidance on this matter from the IS and IEC.
Because we recognize that word about this decision may enter the public
domain, the SRR Working Group has prepared some guidance and materials
for you to respond to inquiries and to potential criticism in your
communities. The documents include: Letter from the Executive Director:
This can be sent to those who express concern about our new policy. This
is, therefore, an external document that can be used for-response
to inquiries. Two-page overview: This explains the context for this
decision and the consultation process. This is an external document that
can be used for-response to inquiries. Letter to the Editor: This is an
external document, but one that should be used only to respond to critical
editorials or letters to the editor in local newspapers. FAQ: This is
an internal document that can be used to respond to inquiries, but not
distributed to the public. Talking points: This is an internal document
that is to be used for answering verbal inquiries about our policy.
A word about press inquiries:
Please do not respond to any inquiries from the news media. Any press
inquiries should be sent to Gwen Fitzgerald (fitzgerald@aiusa.org) or
Suzanne Trimel (strimel@aiusa.org) in the Communications Department's
media office.
We are also establishing an email burst for inquiries from members and
the public: srrinfo@aiusa.org. Any questions should be directed there
or to your regional office. Thank you.
Best,
Karen Schneider
Chair, SRR Working Group
*******************
Karen Schneider
Deputy Executive Director of Communications
Amnesty International USA
600 Pennsylvania Avenue SE
Washington DC 20003
202.544.0200, ext. 273
202.675.8585 (fax)
kschneider@aiusa.org
amnestyusa.org